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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Billions of people depend on wildlife every day for food, medicine and energy. But a new UN-backed report says overexploitation, climate change, pollution and deforestation are pushing a million species towards extinction.
Unless humans improve sustainable use of nature, the planet will lose 12 percent of its wild tree species, more than 1,000 wild mammal species and nearly 450 species of sharks and rays, and other irreparable damage.
Humans regularly use some 50,000 wild species, and one in five of the world’s 7.9 billion people depend on them for food and income, the report said. A third of people rely on fuelwood for cooking, and the figure is even higher in Africa.
“These uses have to be sustainable because you need them to serve your children and grandchildren. So when the use of wild species becomes unsustainable, it’s not good for the species, it’s bad for the ecosystem, it’s not good for people,” the report combined Chairman Marla R. Emery of America told The Associated Press.
In addition to the gloomy outlook, the report offers recommendations for policymakers and examples of sustainable use of wildlife. The central point, the report says, should be securing land tenure rights for indigenous and local peoples, who have historically used wild species sustainably.
According to the study, indigenous peoples occupy approximately 38,000,000 square kilometers (14,600,000 square miles) of land in 87 countries, equivalent to approximately 40 percent of terrestrial protected areas.
“Their lands tend to do better than other lands in terms of sustainability. The common denominator is the ability to continue to engage in customary practices,” said Emory, who is also a U.S. Forest Service researcher.
Emory believes that ensuring that national and international systems, such as education, promote the protection of indigenous languages is critical, as it preserves the ability of older members to pass on traditional knowledge about sustainable practices to new generations.
An example of good practice is fishing for arapaima, one of the world’s largest freshwater fish, in the Brazilian Amazon, France’s Jean-Marc Fromentin report co-chair told The Associated Press.
“It’s a shift from unsustainable to sustainable,” Fromentin said. “Some communities in Brazil created community-based management and then brought together some scientists to learn more about the biology of the fish and build effective monitoring systems. It worked so well that the model made its way into Peru, etc. other communities and countries.”
Several United Nations studies have highlighted the importance of biodiversity and the threats posed by climate change, but they have Don’t bring solutions.
Indigenous leaders cited growing problems in the region, such as illegal mining and mercury contaminated water used in oil spills. In addition, those who oppose these practices face violence, such as the recent murder of an indigenous fighter in a Venezuelan mining area.
“There is an unreasonable exploitation of natural resources in the Amazon, but there is no social investment to improve the health, education, culture and food situation of indigenous peoples,” Mirabal said.
The report was approved by representatives of the 139 member states gathered this week in Bonn, Germany. It involves dozens of experts, from scientists to indigenous knowledge holders. IPBES is an independent intergovernmental body that is not part of the United Nations system, but is supported by the United Nations Environment Programme and other agencies.
AP climate and environmental reporting is supported by several private foundations.See more about the Associated Press climate initiative here. The Associated Press is solely responsible for all content.
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